The Château Ramezay
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The Macdonald Stewart Foundation supports the Chateau Ramezay Museum
One of the longstanding organizations supported by David Stewart, long before the endowment of the Macdonald Stewart Foundation, is the Chateau Ramezay Museum, located in old Montreal on Notre Dame Street opposite City Hall. The building’s historic status began in 1705 when Claude de Ramezay, then Governor of Montréal, decided to build a residence surrounded by a large garden and fruit tree orchard. Over the years, the owner and function of the Château Ramezay changed several times – from the Governor’s residence, to government house, to headquarters of the American revolutionary forces led by Benjamin Franklin and used as a school. It was witness to major historical events, and many historical figures have crossed through its doors, including the Intendant Hocquart, the poet Émile Nelligan, Governor Lord Elgin and Benjamin Franklin. In the spring of 1893, the Québec Government no longer had use for this old building and decided to abandon it through an auction. The Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal (ANSM), which regrouped francophone and anglophone citizens, mobilized public opinion to save it and succeeded in convincing the City of Montréal to purchase the Château and, in exchange, it agreed to set up a museum, a national portrait gallery and a public library. Their museum opened its doors on May 1, 1895. From the inception of the society, the collection was primarily formed through donations of citizens who wanted to preserve the vestiges of our past and, in particular, to help educate the next generation. Its collection is characterized by the richness, rarity, and diversity of its pieces. Estimated at nearly 30,000 objects, it can be subdivided into several categories: ethnology, manuscripts, printed material, prints, paintings, furniture, etc and tells the history of Montreal’s role in the development of Quebec and Canada. In the 1950s, David Stewart, already a devoted amateur of history saw that the Chateau Ramezay needed support to accomplish its mission and became involved. He was elected President of the Museum, and then became President of Board of Trustees for many years. He would be followed in that position by his wife Liliane Stewart until her death. Today, the Macdonald Stewart Foundation has a representative on the Board of Trustees of the museum. After a number of financial interventions by the Stewarts, and then with the endowment of the Foundation in 1973, a major million-dollar renovation was undertaken at the Chateau, that saw infrastructure and exhibition galleries completely updated. This included the installation of the Boiserie de Nantes, the beautiful 18th century wood paneling from the Compagnie des Indes’ headquarters in Nantes, France which Mr. Stewart had acquired in advance of Expo67. The Foundation continues to support the Chateau Ramezay through a modest annual grant, absolutely necessary considering the limited government grants. Since 2015, the Compagnie Franche de la Marine and the 78th Fraser Highlanders programs have moved from the Stewart Museum at the Fort on Ile Ste-Helene to be headquartered at the Chateau Ramezay, from where they animate throughout old Montreal during the summer months. The Chateau Ramezay is an excellent example of a museum that has a generally unrecognized but important collection and which showcases an active exhibition and education program based on volunteers and self-financing initiatives and this for more than 120 years. |
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